Beware the Beast in Black
by PrinceSolaris
Summary: Nick and Judy are sent to an abandoned sanitarium to investigate the disappearance of two ZPD officers. Finnick tags along for the ride. Soon after they arrive, the trio realize they are not alone.
1. Chapter 1 - Movie Night

_"Huddled in the cellar, fear caught in their eyes. Daring not to move or breathe, as the creature cries. Fingernails start scratching, on the outside walls. Clawing at the windows, "come to me" it calls. Atmosphere's electric, as it now descends the stairs. Hiding in the darkness, is so futile from it's glares. Death comes in an instant, as they hoped it would. Souls ascend to heaven, while it feasts on flesh and blood." -Judas Priest, Night Crawler_

* * *

It was always nice to get a weekend off, especially after weeks without a proper break. They had been working on particularly tough case, not much ground has been made on it, and after spending some days and even some nights in the detective ward, the Chief figured that a short break would clear their heads.

Nick was preparing refreshments for his little get together he had planned that evening. He had invited Judy, and an old friend of his, Finnick, over to his place for a horror movie viewing party. After all, Halloween was just around the corner. The place Nick was renting at the moment, was a simple one floor, one bedroom flat. Easy on the wallet for sure, but he had made sure to make the place more 'Nick' by purchasing expensive furniture, and consulting an actual interior designer to make it visually appealing.

Nick was in the kitchen, emptying a full bag of chips into a large bowl, and placing multiple cans of cola in the fridge. He wanted to make sure that there was no chance the three should run out of snacks. As he removed the last can from the case, instead of putting in the fridge with the rest, he cracked it open and took a swig. He didn't mind room temperature soda, in his opinion, it was better that way.

Nick's ears perked up at the sound of the door knocker. He stood upright and placed his can of cola on the dining room table. He strolled delightedly to the front door. He looked back into the flat quickly, to make sure that everything was presentable. Nick opened the door and looked down to see his two guests standing outside. Judy smiled at Nick, and Finnick was leaning on the door frame, twirling the keys to his van around his paw.

"Hey, Nick!" Judy said, still smiling.

"Hey, Carrots, Finn." Nick replied, turning his attention to Finnick.

"Hello, long-time no-see." Finnick said, tossing his keys up, then catching them and shoving them into his pocket.

Nick motioned for the two to come in, closing the door behind him. He guided them toward the living room, and sat them down on the couch. Nick disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Judy and Finn alone.

"So Finnick, how've you been lately?" Judy asked, crossing her legs.

Finnick was already relaxed on the couch, lying against one of the armrests.

"I've been alright, how's the force treating you?" Finnick replied, not moving.

"Oh, the ZPD is great, whenever you're not being worked into the ground and out the other side of the planet with some shifts being sixteen hours." Judy said, sarcastically.

Nick walked back into the living room, holding the bowl of chips he prepared earlier in one paw, and a smaller bowl of assorted chocolates and candies in the other.

"Sorry about that, guys, I was right in the middle of setting up when you knocked, so all the snacks and stuff were in the kitchen. There's cans of soda in the fridge, but there's no way they're cold yet, so unless you don't mind lukewarm..." Nick said, placing the two bowls onto the coffee table.

Finnick furrowed his brow.

"When has anyone ever complained about room temperature cola?" Finnick said, sitting back up.

Nick pointed toward Judy.

"She has. On multiple occasions."

Judy's eyes widened.

"What? I do not!" she said, raising her voice a smidge.

Nick stifled a chuckle.

"Well, let's see. There was that time in the break room, that time at that sandwich restaurant, and also that one time in the park, which, need I remind you, is your fault, because you left the bottle out in the sun..." Nick said.

"Oh, you are so full of it, Nick, besides, the fridge in the break room really is broken." Judy said, crossing her arms.

While the two were arguing, Finnick was observing from a few feet away, trying to hold his composure.

"That's not the point, Judy. The point is that you despise room temperature soda, and you were trying to defend yourself by lying, and depending on me not remembering all the times you brought it up."

Judy stammered, she was speechless.

At this point, Finnick burst out laughing. He fell back onto the couch cushion.

"Look, I'm sorry I brought it up, okay? Jeez." He said, in between bouts of laughter.

Nick and Judy simply stared at the fennec, who was trying to calm himself down.

"Alright, enough about room temperature soda. What are we watching first?" Judy asked, frustrated with the two.

Nick's ears perked up.

"Whatever we can find online, it's all on the internet." Nick replied, fetching a connector cable.

He hooked up his laptop to his TV, and opened up a new tab. He turned to face the two, who were staring back at him.

"So, what would you like?"

"How about that one... "Hocus Pocus" I think it was?" Judy said.

Nick shook his head.

"Hocus Pocus? Judy, this is a _horror_ movie marathon. Hocus Pocus isn't scary, it's just Halloween themed. We can watch that one when Halloween actually arrives." He said,

"Finn, you have any suggestions?"

Finnick thought for a moment, scratching his head.

"What about that one from a few years back, Night Crawler." He said.

"Hey, yeah. Let's watch that. Nice one, Finn." Nick said, commending the fennec.

Finnick nodded, and hopped off the couch, heading toward the kitchen. Nick searched the name of the film in the search engine, and sure enough, there it was. He opened the link and the video began to play. He stopped to allow the stream to buffer for a few minutes, to make sure that there would be no freezing during the movie. As he was about to go grab his can of soda that he left on the table earlier, his computer made a familiar **ding**. It was an e-mail. An e-mail from Chief Bogo. Nick's eyes narrowed, and he opened the message. It read:

 _Nick Wilde._

 _I sincerely apologize for interrupting you on your weekend off, but it is a matter of utmost urgency. Earlier today, I sent a couple officers to investigate the abandoned Rentschler-Graham sanitarium in the outskirts of town, because there had been reports of vandalism. I sent them to survey the area and ton assess the property damage and possible find the culprits. After a few hours of searching, they radioed back to HQ and stated that nothing had been found. During that radio conversation, the sound of what could be claws on metal or glass, and an unearthly growl. The transmission cut off seconds after. I am worried that something terrible has happened to them, and that something even more terrible is hiding out inside the sanitarium. I need you and Hopps to make your way to the Rentschler-Graham sanitarium, and investigate the disappearances. I suggest that you arm yourselves accordingly, and that you both bring cameras suited for filming in dark places to capture anything you may come across. I am aware that this may be the most dangerous assignment I have ever given you, but know that I give it to you because I put a great deal of trust that you and Hopps will be successful._

 _With regards,_

 _Bogo_

Nick's jaw was slightly ajar, and is eyes as wide as dinner plates. It was his turn to be speechless. He had momentarily forgotten that he had his e-mail projected onto the TV as well as the laptop screen, so both Judy and Finnick read it also.

"Oh my goodness. This is terrible." Judy stated, eyes still glued to the TV.

"Suspicious if you ask me." Finnick added, also staring at the TV.

Nick looked at the two on the couch, then back at the laptop. He began typing a response to the Chief.

 _Chief Bogo,_

 _What has gone down over there is incredibly serious, Judy and I will accept the case. We will be over within the hour. I will make sure that plenty of footage is captured for whatever purpose you may need it for._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Nick Wilde._

"Okay, hold up a second." Finnick said, raising his paw.

Nick and Judy looked over to him.

"So, two police officers, most likely armed, go missing in a creepy, abandoned, possibly haunted, insane asylum. Your boss's immediate first thought is: 'I'm gonna send my two best detectives over there with cameras and guns to capture video of whatever may be lurking in there, a-la-Ghost Adventures.'"

Nick furrowed his brow.

"Finn, this is nothing like 'Ghost Adventures.' First of all, ghosts aren't real. That stuff's all staged. It's entertainment. This is real business, someone could be in there with the intent to harm law enforcement, and it's our job to go over there and investigate." Nick replied, closing his laptop and heading toward the entrance.

Finnick sighed. "Whatever you say, Nick."

Nick opened the closet door, to reveal a few cameras issued to him by the Department. He removed one of them from it's case and passed to Judy, who had followed him. He removed a second one for himself, and hung it around his neck by the strap. He noticed Finnick standing behind him as he was about to close the door.

"Since I'm tagging along, I want a camera too." Finnick said, holding out his paws.

Nick rolled his eyes.

"No, Finn, you're not coming with us. It's way too dangerous, and would be irresponsible of me to let you." He said.

Finnick smirked.

"Actually, Nicholas, I am coming. Your car's in the shop, you don't have a way out there. I'm the only one with a vehicle here." Finnick replied, dangling the keys to his van.

Nick groaned. He bent down to meet Finnick at face level.

"Alright, you can come, but only if you agree to not interfere with our investigation in any way, shape, or form, got it?"

"You're the captain, Captain." Finnick said, giving Nick a mock-salute.

Nick simply shook his head, and disappeared around the corner.

A few minutes passed before Nick came back, holding three unloaded handguns, and six full magazines. He handed the first one to Finnick.

"I trust you know how to use this?" he asked.

"Oh, I know plenty, I'm just lucky I've never had to use one."

Nick handed the second one to Judy, who refused."

"No thanks, I have mine." She said, reaching into her handbag and pulling out her standard-issue firearm.

"You brought a gun to a movie night! How unstable are you?"

"Better safe than sorry." Judy added, putting it away.

Finnick threw his arms up in the air.

"You serious?" he yelled?

"Enough!" Nick yelled over Finnick.

"Let's go."

On the way out, Nick handed Finnick his third camera. They placed their equipment in the back of Finnick's van, then got into the van themselves. Finnick knew the city streets by heart, but their destination was a little bit off the radar. Finnick put the location of the sanitarium into his phone, and followed the directions there. Finnick pushed 'play' on the dashboard, and some of his french hip-hop started playing. The three were silent for a good ten minutes before Judy spoke up about how she though that Finnick's taste in music was terrible.

"Driver chooses the music, passengers shut it."

They drove for another twenty minutes before reaching a dirt road. The tree branches stretched over the road in a way that would damage the vehicle if they attempted to drive through it, so Finnick parked the van on the shoulder of the street. They grabbed their equipment from the back, and began walking down the dirt road. The sun had set about a half hour before then, so the walk was fairly dark. Each camera was equipped with an LED light bar, so that the camera was able to capture everything in colour, instead of the grainy-looking green tint that typical night vision cameras had. They walked down the dirt road for another ten minutes before approaching a tired looking brick-and-mortar structure. The whole area was covered in dead leaves, with a few twigs spread around here and there. The widows of the structure, the few that it had, were either boarded up or shattered, most likely by vandals. Overall, the whole structure and the area surrounding it was very ominous. The three walked up the concrete steps to the front door, which was boarded up and locked.

"Great, now we have to walk around the building until we find an entrance." Nick said.

Nick descended the steps, and began walking around the edge of the building; Judy followed. Finnick, however, looked up and down the wall, looking for a window for them to climb in. He had spotted one, about five feet from the edge of the steps.

"Hey guys, maybe we could climb in this window." He exclaimed.

Nick turned around and squinted into the darkness. He turned on his camera light, to see Finnick standing on a concrete railing, pointing at the open window.

Nick and Judy walked back up the steps, and observed the window. The window had a small ledge, large enough to grab onto if one was to jump over.

"I think I can make the jump. Once I'm in, I'll be able to catch you and pull you in." Nick said.

Nick asked Judy to turn on her camera's light, so that he could see where he was jumping. He climbed onto the railing, and jumped. He grabbed the ledge with ease, and hoisted himself into the building. He placed his camera, with the light on, onto the ledge. He motioned for the other two to get ready to jump. Judy turned off her camera's light, and hopped up onto the railing, just as Nick had done. She jumped toward the window, and grabbed onto Nick's arm. Nick pulled Judy into the building with him. Now it was Finnick's turn. He mantled the railing, and stared over toward the window.

 _Alright, Finn. On the count of three. One...Two...Three!_

On three, Finnick leaped toward the window. He closed his eyes and held out his arms. He felt the grip of Nick's paw grab his arms, and pulled him in through the window. All three of them were inside the sanitarium now.

Nick grabbed his camera off of the ledge, and faced it into the room. He began recording.

"Alright guys, turn on your cameras." Nick said.

Finnick and Judy did as they were told, and began recording.

Finnick turned his camera toward the wall, where someone had crudely spray-painted a phrase on the wall in black paint. He read it aloud.

 _ **Beware the beast in black**_

 _ **You know he's coming back.**_

"What does that even mean?" he asked.

"We're not here to admire the graffiti, Finn, we're here to find two missing officers." Nick said, disappearing into the hall.

Judy followed suit, leaving Finnick the only one in the room. He pointed his light around the room, taking note of the peeling paint, and paper strewn all over the floor. A wooden desk was in the middle stages of decay, on it, what looked like a notebook. Finnick opened the notebook to the first page.

"If found, return to room 202 - Doctor B. Rentschler..." Finnick whispered.

"Let's go, Finn, we don't have all night." Nick called from the hallway.

Finnick put the notebook back down on the rotting desk, and disappeared into the hallway.

* * *

 _Thought I'd write something in spirit of the holiday, even though it's still a few weeks away. Enjoy. -Prince_


	2. Chapter 2 - Investigation

The hallway was just as, if not, more grimy-looking than the room they just left. The hallways of the building had peeling paint, rotting wood finishes, and holes in the ceiling left by fallen drop-ceiling tiles. Finnick pointed his camera in all directions, capturing the new environment around him. He shone his light down the hallway to get a better look at it. About fifty metres down the hall, an old hospital bed stood placed next to the wall. The bed structure was covered in rust, and layers of dust and paint from the walls covered it. He looked back into the room he exited. Darkness poured in from the open window, signalling that the sun had set. He turned back around to face Nick and Judy. They were also looking around, taking in their surroundings. Nick looked down at Finnick and Judy. Using his arm, he motioned for them to follow him. The trio walked about ten metres down the hallway until they reached a large open space. Large wooden doors, which were barricaded with multiple chairs and small tables, were at the front of the room. Near the rear, what looked a reception desk. The desk istelf and the floor around it were littered with yellowing papers. Directly in front of them, a dark opening to another hallway, which continued down for a good hundred metres.

"This must be the lobby." Judy said.

"Yes. If either of us get lost, try to make your way back here. However, to avoid that, we should just stick together" Nick replied

Nick walked over to the desk. He picked up a paper off the ground and read over it. He repeated this action five times. He then walked behind the desk, repeating the action another five times.

"Find anything?" Finnick asked, shining his light at the desk.

Nick suddenly popped his head up from behind the desk. He cried out quietly, and shielded his eyes from the bright light with his arms.

"Jeez, Finn. Don't point that at someones eyes, and no, nothing useful, just patient info."

Nick walked back to the other two, still rubbing his eyes. He shone his light down the unexplored hallway, pointing at it.

"We should start with this hallway. From my observations, this building is four storeys tall. We search this hallway, then we check the second floor hallways, and so on until we reach the top floor. Then we come back down to search the basement. Sound like a plan?" Nick said.

Finnick and Judy nodded in agreement.

"Good." Nick said, reaching for his pocket.

Nick pulled out a small radio. He held it to his face and pushed a small button on the top.

"HQ, this is Wilde. We have entered the building containing the two victims. I have created a search route of the whole facility. No clues so far, stand by for further transmissions, over" He said, into the radio.

A few second passed before a reply came through. Although a little garbled, Judy was able to recognize the voice as Chief Bogo.

"Excellent, good work. Standing by, over." he said.

Nick shoved the device back into his pocket, and picked up his camera once again. Nick motioned with his arm for the two to follow him. They began walking across the lobby, toward the darkened hallway in front of them. All three of them turned faced their lights to the hallway, to brighten it up so they could safely walk through it. They reached the first few doors in the hallway, all open, before stopping.

"So here's what's going down. We're going to check every single room in this place to find the two missing officers. Be sure to search extremely thoroughly. If you find anything helpful, bring it to me. Got it?" Nick said, facing the two.

"Got it!" Judy replied quickly.

"Yup." Finnick said, soon after.

Nick nodded. He assigned each of them a room to search, pointing at the room while calling their name. Nick disappeared into the room to his right, while Judy disappeared into the room on his left.

Finnick was told to search the room next to Nick's. Finnick entered the room, shining his light around the room. To Finnick, the room looked just the same as the other one he was just in. It was another office, complete with collapsing bookshelves, paper strewn about, and a rotting wooden desk. He knew in his mind that there was nowhere in this room for a cop to hide, and, there was nowhere in this room for a crook to hide the corpse of a dead cop in this room. Finnick pushed the grizzly thought away, and continued his search. He picked up a red-ringed binder off of one of the shelves. He observed the the binder, which was barely being held together by the rusted metal rings. On the first page of the binder, there was a name. 'Kevin.' The last name was missing, as the page had been torn.

"Kevin..." Finnick repeated.

He re-placed the binder on the shelf, and turned to the desk. The desktop was completely empty. Behind it, desk supplies such as a desk lamp and multiple pencils and pens were scattered on the floor. Someone, or some _thing,_ had thrown everything onto the floor. Finnick then searched the drawers of the desk. There were only two drawers on the desk. Finnick opened the first drawer. Inside, there was nothing, only a few soggy-looking wooden pencils, that Finnick refused to touch. Next was the second drawer. This drawer looked like it was in a much better state than the other one. Inside, there was a single piece of folded note paper. Finnick reached for the paper, but hesitated. He noticed that this paper looked like it was in much better condition than the papers strewn across the floor. It clicked in his mind that this paper must be newer than those other ones. He reached for the paper once more, and picked it up. He unfolded the paper, and saw the hastily scrawled note on the paper. He began to read it.

 _My name is Kevin Graham, I was a doctor at this sanitarium from the years 1943-1962. I composed this note to warn you that you are in grave danger. To give you some context, I'll start at the beginning of the whole ordeal. During my years here , I worked with my partner, Rentschler. He was a firm believer that there was no limit on mammal testing. He performed everything, lobotomies, you name it. If you can think it, he did it to someone. One fateful day, he was experimenting with radiation therapy, and he had accidentally locked himself in the room with the unfortunate test subject. Upon exiting the room, all seemed fine, and he continued his testing. Days later, I began to notice him change._

Finnick folded the note back up and put in in his pocket. He exited the room to see Nick and Judy standing outside, waiting for him. Nick had his arms crossed, while Judy was pointing her light further down the darkened hallway.

"Find anyting?" Finnick asked.

"Nope, nothing." Judy said, a twinge of disappointment in her voice.

"I didn't find anything either. Remember, there are plenty more rooms to check, it was highly unlikely that we'd find anything in here." Nick said.

Nick began walking down the hall toward the next set of doors.

"C'mon, we have work to do."

The three continued on to check every room in that hallway, each of them reported no clues in any of them. They approached the end of the hallway, where the flight of stairs to the second floor was located. They stopped at the staircase, Nick turned around to face them.

"Alright, one down, three to go, plus the basement. You guys ready?" He asked.

Finnick and Judy nodded.

Nick began walking up the first flight of stairs. As soon as he reached the first landing, Finnick's ears perked up.

"What was that?" Finnick asked out loud.

"What was what?" Nick replied, turning around to face Finnick.

"That noise." Finnick said.

Nick sighed.

"It was probably these old, rickety stairs, Finn, or it could have been the wind rustling some paper, or peeled paint. Whatever it was, don't worry about it." Nick said, crossing his arms.

At that moment, a loud cry of fear could be heard echoing through the building. Everyone stopped in their tracks, trying to find the source. Nick ran back down the staircase to meet up with the other two.

'Did ya hear that one, Nick?" Finnick asked, slightly frustrated.

"Yes, Finn, I heard it. It's coming from the basement, let's go!" Nick said, running past both Finnick and Judy.

Finnick and Judy looked at each other, before running down the darkened stairs that lead to the basement.

"Hey, Nick, wait up!" Judy called.

Finnick and Judy found Nick standing at the base of the staircase. He was shining his light toward the ground. Some of the light reflected off of the ground, casting patterns on the walls and ceiling.

"Basement's flooded. I'd say there's about one inch of water." Nick stated.

Judy stepped into the water, and turned to face the other two.

"A little water isn't gonna stop this investigation." Judy said.

Nick and Finnick looked at each other. They both stepped into the water. It was an uncomfortable temperature, somewhere between cool and lukewarm. It made Finnick's fur stand on end.

The three continued down the flooded concrete hallway, searching for the source of the cry. They shone their light in every room, until they reached one where the door was only left open a crack. The three exchanged looks. Nick crept slowly to the door, reaching for the knob. Finnick mentally prepared himself for what could possible be behind the door. Nick slowly opened the door to reveal what was inside. Nick's eyes were the size of saucers, and Judy gasped. For Finnick, it was like nothing imagined. It was worse, much, much worse.

In the room, a tiger, lay face up in the water. His clothes, as well as the water around him, were dyed a deep crimson colour. There were lacerations all up his arms, legs, and across his chest. Clumps of fur and even some flesh was floating in the water. Possibly the most disturbing, one of his eyes were missing, and blood ran down his face from where it used to be. Judy looked away, crying. Nick ran over to try and assist the officer, Finnick simply stared, frozen in fear at what he had seen. Nick kneeled next to the officer, and held his head up. The officer groaned in pain.

"Aw, hell naw." Finnick said quietly.

"What happened to you?" Nick asked frantically.

"I-it got us... he c-creature..." he replied quietly.

"W-we were searching t-the third floor, we h-heard an unworldly cry, a sound I've n-never heard in my life. Next t-thing we knew, _it_ attacked. It assaulted us, c-cut us with it's blade-like claws. It dragged us down t-the stairs, and it left me in t-this room."

The officer coughed.

"Where's your partner? Nick asked, reaching for his pocket.

"I saw the c-creature drag him off, I'm not s-sure where to." he replied.

Nick pulled out his radio from his pocket, and began yelling into it.

"I've got one of them with me here! He's in critical condition, send a medic team out here at once!"

Nick waited impatiently for a reply. When it did come, it was a garbled, undecipherable mess of sounds.

"Can you repeat that, over" Nick yelled.

The radio spat out nothing but white noise, before it shut off completely. Nick pushed the tiny button on the top of the device, but it was pointless. The device had mysteriously stopped working.

"Damn it what's with this thing? Nick asked, smacking the radio in frustration.

"Maybe it's because we're in a basement." Finnick said.

Nick scowled at him.

"Now's really not the time for sarcasm, Finn!"

Finnick was in shock at his friend's reply.

"What are you talking about? I was being serious! The concrete could be interfering with the signal!" Finnick yelled back.

An unearthly cry bellowed from down the hallway, shutting everyone up. The wounded officer inhaled sharply.

"That's the creature! That's the s-sound it made before it got us! R-run, before it g-gets you too!"

Loud splashing could be heard approaching the room.

"We are not leaving you behind." Nick said, voice breaking.

The officer yelled in pain as he grabbed Nick by the collar of his shirt.

"Just go! Before it's too late!" he said, shoving Nick away from him.

The trio ran out of the room, and made a mad dash for the stairs. Finnick turned around to see what was chasing them when he reached the base of the stairs.

The creature ran on all fours, and could not be recognized as any species of mammal. Its body looked like it had been burnt, with some orange glowing off of some places of the body. The face had multiple slits for eyes, which glowed the same ghostly orange as other places on the creature. Its mouth glowed the same orange, with many rows of charcoal-black teeth. It's claws were as sharp as knives, and could be heard scraping the concrete floor, even under the water. The creature stopped for a moment, then leapt a good twenty metres to attack Finnick.

"Oh, shit!" Finnick yelled, jumping backward, narrowly avoiding the creature's swipes.

Finnick ran back up the stairs to catch up with Nick and Judy. As soon as he reached the top of the stairs, a loud cry of pain could be heard from the basement again. Judy began to cry.

"Oh my god..." she said weakly.

The creature bellowed from the basement, and scratching could be heard coming from the stairs. The creature ran unexpectedly fast, and it charged the group, teeth and claws bared. As it charged, Nick drew his weapon, and fired three shots into the creatures head. The creature fell flat on the floor, and the corpse disintegrated as the shells hit the floor. A loud, demonic voice could be heard coming from the dust pile.

" **You're trapped here, just like me..."**

The dust pile evaporated into the air, leaving no trace of the creature's existence. Nick walked up to where the creature once was.

"What was that thing?" Judy asked through heavy breaths.

"I'm not sure, Judy. But I'm pretty sure if it's defeated that easily, there's no way that's the last we'll see of him." Nick said.

"What? You want to stay and try to find out what that thing is? I think we should just get the hell outta here, and leave that thing alone." Finnick said.

Finnick sprinted down the hallway to the room where they came in from. As he was about to pass through the doorway, he was knocked back, seemingly by an invisible wall. Finnick scratched his head as he stood back up. Nick and Judy ran over to meet him.

"Finnick, are you alright?" Judy asked, helping him up

"Man, what the hell is this voodoo shit?" He said.

Nick thought back for a moment.

"The creature said 'you're trapped here, just like me.' If I'm right, that must mean in order to escape, we have to free the creature as well." He said.

Finnick was dumbfounded.

"What? You wanna help that thing, the one who just slaughtered two cops and then went for us? Are you outta your mind?" Finnick yelled.

"Well, would you rather just sit here and wait for death? If you have a better idea, please speak up now." Nick replied, throwing his arms up in frustration.

Finnick thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"That's what I thought. I was never one to believe in the paranormal, but after what went down today, I'm pretty sure there's no evidence against it. What we need to do is, somehow, find a way to help this damned soul escape this place. Start looking for anything that might be of use guys." Nick said, heading down the hallway.

"So... are we like the Ghostbusters now?" Finnick asked.

Nick turned around, accidentally shining his light in Finnick's eyes.

"No! We are nothing like the fucking Ghostbusters! Now let's go!" Nick yelled.

Finnick shut his eyes tightly.

"God dammit, man! Watch where you aim that thing!"

"Yeah, hurts, doesn't it. Now move it."


	3. Chapter 3 - Curiouser and Curiouser

Finnick, Judy, and Nick, shaken up from the event that had just unfolded, found themselves in the foyer once again. They walked up to the reception desk, that was hidden in the corner of the room. Nick leaned on the wall of the desk, and slowly slid down until he was in a sitting position on the floor. He placed his muzzle into his paws, and exhaled loudly. Judy had managed to calm herself down enough to stop crying, and took a seat next to him. She placed her paw on his shoulder, a weak attempt to try and comfort him. Finnick stared solemnly at the two. He did have to admit to himself, what had just went down was the most fucked up experience of his life, and that he would most likely remember it for the rest of his days, willingly or not.

"I think we should get moving. The longer we stay in one place, the higher chance that _thing_ has of finding us." Finnick said, pacing in front of the other two.

Nick looked up at Finnick. He could see the sadness plastered over Nick's features as he stared.

"In a minute, Finn. I'm still trying to process what the hell just happened." He replied, in a weak whisper that pulled at Finnick's heartstrings.

"What if it comes back, though? We're sitting here like a pie on a windowsill, just waiting to be eaten."

Nick's frown turned into a scowl, and let out a low growl which caused both Finnick and Judy to back away.

"You don't get it, do you Finn? Do you even know what just happened? An officer just fucking died down there! And we could have as well! I think we deserve a couple minutes break." He said, just above a whisper.

Finnick took a step forward, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hey, I was just trying to stick to the plan _you_ came up with, which _I_ think is absurd. And yes, I _do_ know what happened. I'm well aware that someone just got mercilessly slaughtered by a creature from the depths of Hell." Finnick replied, with hostility in his voice.

Nick threw his arms over his head.

"Oh my God, Finn..." He yelled.

Finnick took another step forward, so that he was only a couple inches away from Nick's face.

"Uncomfortable truths, man. Nobody wants to hear 'em."

The two boys argued back and forth, which was making a lot of noise. Judy finally stood up, and walked in between the two foxes. She placed one of her paws on each of their chests to try and separate them.

"Enough! If you two keep fighting like this, you're gonna get us all killed!" she cried, voice breaking once again.

The two stopped their bickering after hearing Judy yell. Her words hit them like a sack of rocks, and the reality of her statement sank in. Nick stood up onto his paws, took a breath in, and exhaled it gently.

"Judy's right. Infighting between us will just cut our investigation short. I think we've had a long enough break at this point. Let's get moving, we still have the other hallway, plus the upstairs ones as well. Keep your ears to the ground, and keep your weapons ready. There's no telling when that thing is gonna come back"

Nick began walking down the hallway, Finnick and Judy fallowing shortly behind. They walked down the hallway, checking each room they could. Finnick walked into one of the rooms, and it looked pretty much the same as the other ones he had checked. A quick scan of the room revealed nothing that would be useful. He exited back into the hallway, and Nick and Judy reported much of the same. They checked the rest of the rooms on that floor, which took them about a half hour. Depressed, but not discouraged, they met up at the flight of stairs at the end of the hallway, the set opposite to the one where they had heard the blood curdling cry for help only a short hour ago.

"You guys ready?" Nick asked calmly.

Even though Nick was terrified out of his skin, he wanted to seem as if he was calm and collected, to try and keep Finnick and Judy focused as well.

Both of them nodded, and the trio headed up the stairs. The stairs creaked with every step, each creak louder than the last. They reached the second floor, and all three of them turned on their camera lights. Finnick walked into the hallway first, approaching a rusted wheelchair frame. He touched it with his paws, and rust collected on his paws, staining his fur. He wiped his paw on his shorts to get rid of the dust. The other two followed behind him, shining their lights around the space. This hallway looked more deteriorated than the one below them, entire walls were missing from rooms, and there were even some holes in the floorboards.

"Be careful here, folks, don't wanna fall through the floor. Keep your eyes peeled." Finnick warned.

This hallway must've been one of the patient wings, as each room had a hospital bed, along with hospital supplies. Nick and Judy each disappeared into one of the rooms. Finnick entered one across the hall from them. Inside the room, Finnick noticed the window was shattered, and what was left of the curtains blew in the light breeze that was blowing in. Finnick walked up to the window, and tried to put his paw through the massive hole left by the missing glass. As soon as he touched the space, his paw was stopped, and where he had touched flashed a mellow blue wave of light that shot off in a circular pattern like ripples of water after a stone was tossed into it.

 _We really are trapped here, huh._ He thought.

To the right of the window, a seemingly intact hospital bed rested against the wall. The bed was made, and the bedsheets were covered in dust from peeling paint. He climbed up onto a nearby wooden stool to get a better look at the top of the bed. He made the bold decision to hop up onto the bed itself. He hoisted himself up and rolled onto the mattress, unintentionally covering himself in dust. This caused Finnick to sneeze a couple times, followed by a mild coughing fit. He waved away the dust in front of his face to try and get some clean air into his lungs. After the dust settled, he pointed his light toward his paws. Something near the head of the bed, under the pillow, caught his eye. Finnick dropped down to his knees and moved the pillow. He recognized the object as a folded piece of notebook paper, just like the one he had found downstairs. He quickly picked it up. He unfolded the note, and recognized the same, sloppy, handwriting as the previous note as well.

 _This must be from Kevin too..._ He thought. Finnick began reading the note.

 _His demeanour shifted slowly, unnoticeable to those who didn't know him. However, approximately two weeks after the incident, in this very room, he drove an icepick into the forehead of one of his patients, for no discernible reason. I know this because I witnessed it, through the window of the door. He passed it off to the higher ups as one of his tests had failed, resulting in death. Everybody believed him, everyone...save for myself. I confronted him about the murder, and at first he denied it. When I told him I saw him commit the act, that's when he attacked me. He made an attempt to cut my throat, but I narrowly dodged the attack. I threw a punch at his jaw, then he ran away down the corridor. Realizing how truly disturbed this man was, I knew I had to stop him. So I grabbed a scalpel and chased after him._

Finnick stared at the paper for another few seconds, before taking a breath in, folding it up, and placing it in his pocket with the other one.

"Damn..." Finnick whispered.

He hopped down off the bed onto the stool, and the strolled back into the hallway. Nick and Judy were still searching their rooms, and Finnick was all alone in the hallway. He leaned against the wall, and put his camera down, turning the light off as well. After the light went out, Finnick allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Finnick's ears perked up as he heard the sound of creaking floorboards and paint shards getting crushed. In his peripherals, toward his left, he saw a dim orange glow at the end of the hallway, opposite the way the came. An unearthly growl came from the direction of the glow, causing Finnick to shudder slightly. The creature had returned, presumable angrier than before.

"Aw shit... it's back." He whispered.

Finnick fought the urge to call out to Nick and Judy, not wanting to alert the creature of his presence. Slowly, he reached for the holster of his firearm, and carefully lifted it up in front of him. Shrouded in darkness, Finnick aimed the weapon at the creature, oblivious to what was in front of him.

 _Alright, Finn. You got this_ He thought.

The creature slowly crept it's way down the hallway, it's blade-like claws scraping against the wooden floors. In a twist of fate, the creature stopped, and turned to look into one of the rooms. This was his chance. In a rush of adrenaline, Finnick yelled into the darkness, in the creature's direction.

"Alright, monster! You're about to meet your maker! Come and get me, you little bitch!" he cried.

The creature immediately turned in Finnick's direction, and an unsettling moan escaped from it. It began charging down the hallway, toward where Finnick was standing, with his weapon drawn.

Nick yelled from inside his room.

"What's going on out there?"

Nick's question was answered within seconds, as Finnick yelled once again.

"Suppressing fire, motherfucker!" he yelled, as he pulled the trigger.

The creature cried in pain as Finnick emptied his all eight rounds of his magazine into the creature's body. The creature fell backward, and began evaporating into the air.

The gunshots had garnered both Nick and Judy's attention, and the both came sprinting out of their rooms. They ran up to Finnick, who reloaded his weapon, and placed it back in his holster.

"Holy shit." was all Nick could say.

As the last few particles of it's being disappeared into the air, the same demonic voice spoke once again.

" **You have not seen the last of me..."**

As the voice spoke, a loud klang could be heard against the floorboards where the creature once was. Finnick walked up to the source of the noise, and picked up an object that wasn't there before. He turned the light of his camera back on, and identified the object as an old fashioned skeleton key.

"What could this be for?" Judy asked, taking the key from Finnick.

"Not sure, but something in my gut tells me we should hold on to this." Nick replied, taking the key from Judy, observing it carefully before handing it back to Finnick.

"Since you found it, you hold on to it." he said.

Finnick nodded and put the key in his pocket.

Nick placed his paws on his hips.

"Something's telling me there's a story behind all of this, but what?" Nick asked aloud.

Finnick's heart skipped a beat. Finnick knew something that Nick didn't. He had the two notes from this Kevin guy. Finnick was about to speak up, until Nick interrupted him, mentioning that they should keep up their search. The three continued down the hallway, only Finnick trailed behind the others. Maybe it was best if Nick didn't know about the notes...not yet.

* * *

 _Surprise! Turns out if I sacrifice a couple hours sleep, I can actually add a chapter before Halloween. Story still ain't done yet, so stick around. I expect to get at least two more chapters out of this one, maybe more. Enjoy! ~Prince_


	4. Chapter 4 - Paranormal Assistance

Nick paced back and forth in the hallway. The whole situation had just become more confusing than before. The creature handed them a key, but for what, and why? Was it trying to help them? Or was it trying to lead them astray? All these questions, but no answers. Nick stopped, placing his arms at his sides, and sighed.

"I'm stuck. None of this makes sense. Why would a something trying to kill us, try to help us at the same time? Do either of you have any ideas?" Nick asked, restarting his pacing.

Judy stared at the floor in thought, and placed her paw on her chin. Nothing came up.

"No, sorry Nick..." she replied.

Finnick was thinking as well. He leaned against the wall, placing his paws into his pockets. He felt the folded up notes as well as the key in there. His eyes widened.

 _These notes, and the key, have to be connected somehow, but there isn't enough information yet._ He thought. The guilt was chipping away at him. He had to tell Nick about the notes. Finnick opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Judy.

"Hey, Nick, how long did it take for that monster to come back after the first time we killed it.?" she asked.

"Well, it took about an hour, if you ask me, but my guess is about as good as anyone else's." Nick replied, interested in Judy's thought.

"If we set some sort of timer, we could be prepared for the next time the monster comes back, that way it won't be a gamble." Judy said.

Nick began to think again. A few minutes passed before he answered.

"I guess it's worth a shot. At this point, anything helps." he said.

Nick reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. He unlocked it, and tapped the clock icon. He messed around with it for a couple seconds, and he turned the phone toward Finnick and Judy, the screen displaying a timer counting down from sixty minutes. He locked the device, and placed it back into his pocket.

"So in one hour, the alarm will sound. When you hear it, prepare yourself. Now we know when the creature's coming, but not from where. Stay aware of your surroundings." Nick said.

The other two nodded, signalling that they understood Nick's statement.

"Good, let's resume our search of this floor, look for anything that seems either helpful, or out of place. We'll meet back up at the end of the hallway, before we head up to the third floor."

The three walked a few paces down the hallway, and each disappeared into a room.

They searched each room on the floor, all three turned up nothing. The whole search took about twenty-five minutes. Finnick and Judy were already waiting at the stairwell when Nick showed up. Neither of them said a word, and they began walking up the stairs. The third floor, somehow, looked even worse than the one below it. The holes in the wall and peeling paint were much, much worse, and accompanying that, were piles of broken glass, from the windows of doors being shattered by vandals. There was also one more, potentially deadly, element added as well. Mold. It coated what remained of the walls, creeping downward toward the baseboards. Considering how old the structure was, and how long it had been abandoned for, the roof began to leak at some point, and allowed mold to run rampant.

The awful scent of molding drywall hit the group like a tube train travelling at top speed. They all recoiled, taking a few steps back.

"Oh, this is just fucking awful." Nick said, covering his nose with his paws.

"I could understand why such a disgusting creature would live here." Finnick added.

Judy remained silent, shining her camera's light around the decaying hallway. The mold looked a lot worse in the light. It was as if a soggy, squishy, darkness was enveloping the structure. The spores glistened in the light, evidencing how damp the space truly was. The floor wasn't as bad as the walls. Yellow, waterlogged pieces of paper covered parts of the floor, creating bright spots on the blackened, rotting wood. A few metres ahead, was a spot brighter than the rest. This caught Judy's eye, and began walking toward it.

"Judy, wait up, that's black mold, it could kill you if you inhale it!" Nick warned.

Judy scoffed, and continued forward.

"If you think I'm worried about mold after being attacked by an ungodly monster, you are out of your mind." Judy replied.

Finnick chuckled at Judy's answer

"Y'know, she has a point." Finnick said to Nick.

"Shut it, you." he replied.

"Judy, what'd you find?"

Judy walked up to the object, and shone her light on it. It was a piece of note paper. It looked newer than the rest, since it wasn't a crumbling ball of mush. She picked up the paper, and unfolded it. The handwriting was sloppy, but still legible.

"It's a note!" Judy cried.

"Bring it over here, so we can read what it says." Nick yelled back.

Judy ran back to where Nick and Finnick were standing. She had placed the note in her pocket, so she would lose hold of it on the way back. She reached into her pocket, and produced the note she had found. She unfolded it, and began reading it aloud.

 _He ran down this hallway, knocking things down as he passed them, in an attempt to slow me down. Unfortunately for him, I was much more nimble than I appeared. I knew where he was heading, the roof. I chased him up that hallway as well, gaining on him with every step. There was nothing for him to throw at me up here. He ran out onto the roof of the structure, closing the door, but in his frantic attempt to escape, he forgot to lock it. I will never understand why he ran here, In hindsight, running out the front entrance would have most likely save his life. Perhaps whatever had taken control of his mind had directed him up here, or perhaps he realized the sins he had committed here, and wanted an end to his life. That, is something I have never been able to figure out._

Nick and Judy were visibly confused by the note's content. Finnick, however, realized the note was the third note in the series of notes he had found. Nick swiped the note from Judy, reading it over himself. He looked up from the paper, more confused still.

"This note doesn't make a lick of sense." Nick stated.

"It could just be a prank left by some kid to scare other kids." Judy added.

"Yeah, otherwise, why would someone confess to commit first degree murder. If that were the case, we would have definitely heard about it." Nick continued.

A thought popped into Finnick's head.

"Maybe the creature wrote it, trying to lure us into a trap." he joked.

Nick rolled his eyes.

"Finn, I doubt the creature can write, even though the handwriting on this thing is atrocious. The most logical explanation for it is some kid was trying to play a prank on his friends while they were dicking around in a condemned building." Nick concluded.

Nick tossed the note onto the floor, and raised his camera. He turned on the light and started walking down the hall, careful to avoid shards of glass. Finnick picked up the note when they weren't looking, folding it and shoving it into his pocket with the others. He ran to catch up with the other two.

They had stopped at a solid wooden door, which was closed. It was the only door on the floor that was closed, which was sketchy. Finnick stood in between them.

"Why are y'all staring at a door?" Finnick asked, confused.

"We're trying to get into the room, and found that it was locked. Judy here said she could kick it down." Nick replied.

Judy, who was against the wall opposite the door, was preparing to charge the door at full speed.

"Wouldn't it make more sense for you to do it? You're the biggest of all of us here." Finnick observed

Nick shrugged.

"She insisted."

Finnick rolled his eyes.

"Alright, watch out guys, 'cause this door is coming down!" Judy said.

Nick and Finnick moved out from in front of the door. Finnick observed that the door frame was incredibly rotten, and that the wood holding the hinges of the door was barely holding. Judy had pushed off the wall for an extra boost to her run speed, and she ran into the door at full speed, using her shoulder as a battering ram. The door flew off its hinges and landed on the floor with a loud thud, with Judy on top of it.

"Nice one, Judy." Finnick said.

Judy got up from the door, and took a few steps back into the hallway. The three looked back into the room, but it was too dark to see anything. Nick pointed his camera into the room, so the light would make it easier to see. Slowly, he panned the light across the darkened room. Inside, on the left side, was nothing but a patient bed. As he approached the middle of the room, the window had a sheet of plywood covering it, eliminating the chance of any light coming in. On the right side, another patient bed, with what looked like a large ball of ashes on top of it. Nick held the light on the object, trying to figure out what it was. Nick took a few steps into the room, trying to get a closer look. He was only a few metres away. In an instant, the supposed ball of ashes began emanating an bright orange glow. This startled Nick, and he hastily stepped back into the hallway. The object shifted and shimmered, lighting up the entire room. It rolled itself off of the bed, and onto the floor below. It sprouted legs, and and arms, covered in barbs, and sharp claws. It turned round revealing its horrible looking face. Four, lifeless orange eyes stared at the trio. The creature let out a loud hiss, and swiped at them with it's claws.

"Oh shit! Book it!" Finnick yelled.

The other two were happy to oblige, and they all ran down the hallway, the creature not far behind.

Nick reached into his pocket to check the timer on his phone. Thirty minutes remained on the timer.

"It hasn't even been an hour yet, why are you here?" Nick yelled toward the creature.

The creature offered no answer, and instead picked up it's pace after them. Judy produced her weapon from her bag. She loaded a full magazine into the gun, and cocked the hammer. Still running, she fired all of her rounds into the creature. She was shocked to find that the creature was not only still standing, but still chasing them at full speed, seemingly immune to the gunshots. She frantically reached into her bag, in search for another magazine. Nick, who had been running beside her, suddenly fell to the floor.

"Nick!" she cried.

"I stepped on a shard of glass!" Nick yelled back, clutching his paw.

The creature shifted it's focus from the group, to Nick alone. Since he was already on the floor, it made him an easy target, and took advantage of his injury. The creature pounced toward Nick, who braced for the incoming attack. Finnick and Judy stopped running, and ran back to help Nick. The creature had grabbed Nick's injured leg, and it sunk it's sharp fangs into Nick's flesh. Nick cried out in agony. In the heat of the moment, Nick had grabbed a large shard of glass from the floor, and shoved it deep into the creature's head. The creature's grip on Nick's leg loosened, and it collapsed in front of him. With his good leg, he kicked the creature in the jaw, knocking it backward. Finnick and Judy ran up to Nick, who was slowly crawling away from the corpse. The body disappeared, the same way as it did before, and the same voice called to them

" **This will _never_ be over..."**

The trio was too busy either tending to Nick, or writhing in pain of his injuries to pay any attention however. Judy had produced a large ACE bandage from her bag, and began unrolling it. Nick was losing a lot of blood, his pants had absorbed a majority of it, and there were large bite marks straight through them. Judy rolled up Nick's pant leg, revealing Nick's injury in it's entirety. His fur from where the creature bit him, continuing all the way down his leg, was matted from the blood. Judy began wrapping his leg with the bandage, Nick winced in pain. Finnick was watching from afar, saddened from the fact that Nick could have died only a few moments ago.

"Finnick..." a voice said, quietly.

Finnick's ears perked up.

"You guys say something?" he asked.

"I didn't say anything." Judy replied.

Nick simply shook his head, he was in too much pain to be able to speak for the time being.

"Finnick..." the voice said once again, louder this time.

Finnick turned his head. The voice was coming from a nearby room. He began walking toward it, but he thought he should tell the others, just so they wouldn't worry about him.

"I'm gonna go check this room over here, I thought I saw something that could be useful." Finnick said.

Judy nodded in his direction, confirming she heard him. Finnick stepped into the room, holding his light in front of him. The room he entered seemed in better condition than the rest of the rooms in the whole building. The mold hadn't gotten to it yet, and all the books and binders were still on the shelves. Even all the stuff on the desk looks like it had never been touched.

 _This is fucking strange. I swear I heard a voice coming from in here. I must be going crazy._ He thought.

"Indeed you did, Finnick, you're not going crazy." the voice said. This time, from behind him.

Finnick turned around, looking for the source. There, floating a good metre off the ground, a ghostly apparition. Finnick covered his mouth, so he wouldn't scream. He didn't want to put additional stress on Judy and Nick at the moment. Finnick was frozen in fear. The apparition resembled a badger, wearing your typical doctor garb. The apparition descended to Finnick's eye level.

"I have been watching you and your friends go about the place, trying to solve the puzzle on how to escape. I would have waited until you found the last note, but I noticed you really struggling, and nobody has ever made it this far, so I figured I would offer my help." the apparition said.

Finnick was shocked.

"What. The fuck. Are you?" he asked.

The apparition raised an eyebrow.

"Well, what the fuck does it look like? I'm a ghost. A spirit, if you prefer, and I require you and your friend's assistance. You see, spoilers by the way, I chased my accomplice up to the roof, where I stabbed him in the neck, killing him. Burdened by guilt, I jumped from the roof, taking my own life. I was never a religious mammal, but, surprise, there's an afterlife. I found myself in my office downstairs, and I realized I couldn't leave. I had been cursed. Cursed to stay here for all eternity as punishment for my sins."

Finnick was even more confused.

"Wait. What the fuck are you even talking about? Is thi-" Finnick began

The apparition interrupted him.

"Let me finish" it said.

"Anyways, my accomplice is trapped here as well. You know him as 'the creature.' I like to call him 'The Fury.' The only way to escape this place, is to kill him in the same way he killed that patient that night, with an icepick to the head. I wrote those notes to guide whoever dared enter this place. Unfortunately for most, they were too stupid to find the first note, and they all perished in the clutches of the Fury. After about the fifth or sixth time, people began developing common sense, and staying away. Nobody showed up for thirty whole years. During that time, I constructed a device that would allow me to contact the living, so when I got it working, I did the first thing that any sensible mammal would do; call the police. I made up a story about kids vandalizing this place, so they would send a couple mammals out to check. They, too perished. Then you guys showed up afterwards, and began making progress."

"So let me get this straight. You were the one who called the station, and by association, you got those two officers killed. Also, is this a fucking game to you?"

The apparition took offence to Finnick's statement.

"What? No! This isn't a game, you dolt. I'm trying to help you! It isn't my fault that they were too stupid to find my notes. I was extra careful to make them as clear as possible. Now that I'm here, it should be easier than ever! I pretty much just explained how to defeat him. All you have to do is carry on the plan." The apparition said.

Finnick furrowed his brow.

"If you know how to do it, why don't you just do it yourself?" he asked.

The apparition sighed.

"I'm the one who killed him before, that wouldn't do anything to help. Also, I've already tried that, it didn't do anything." it replied.

"Alright then, why didn't you show yourself before now?"

"I tried, but your friends apparently blind and deaf. They can't see or hear me. One more question, your lives are at stake here."

Finnick thought for a moment.

"Who even are you?"

The apparition's features dropped.

"Oh, fuck. I totally forgot to introduce myself, didn't I? My name is Kevin Graham."

Finnick nodded, feeling stupid.

"Ohh, right. I mean, you _did_ mention you wrote the notes..." he said.

"Right. Anyways, pass on my message to your deaf friends over there. I'll be around, it's not like I can go anywhere..." Kevin said, before disappearing from view.

"Wait-" he began, but Kevin was already gone. Finnick sighed.

Finnick walked back into the hallway, slightly peeved that Kevin just bailed on him like that. He saw that Nick was back on his paws, so he wasn't down for the count, which was good. Judy had wrapped up his leg real good, and also fed him painkillers, so that he would be able to at least walk. Finnick was greeted by Judy halfway between where he was, and where Nick was.

"Was there anything in there?" Judy asked.

Finnick remained silent until they reached Nick, who was leaning against a wall. Finnick re-told what had just happened to him in that room. He told them about Kevin, and how he wanted them to set him free. At this point, Nick chimed in, stating that he was at least right about setting the soul free. Then, he told them about the notes. Nick asked why Finnick hadn't told him about the first note when he found it. Finnick had no real answer to that, so he just shrugged his shoulders. Nick sighed, and stood up straight. He winced, still feeling a little pain in his leg.

"It looks like we have a goal to work towards now, guys. First, we need to find the icepick he used, so we absolutely have to keep searching, and second, we need to wait for the creature to come back. He seems to be more powerful every time he comes back, it is imperative that we find that pick before he comes back. I say we stop wasting time just sitting around, and we start looking." Nick said.

Nick started walking down the hall, his limp was very noticeable. Finnick couldn't help but feel bad for Nick. He didn't deserve what happened to him. None of them deserved any of what happened to them. But the fact was, the only way to escape, was to free the spirits. So they had to carry on. Judy and Finnick followed Nick down the hallway. They had a sense of direction now, so they weren't just searching around aimlessly. The only think Finnick was worried about at that moment, was if Kevin was really telling them the truth, or if he was trying to lure them to their doom.


	5. Chapter 5 - Rooftop Reunion

Since they now knew what they were searching for, checking room to room went by a lot quicker. They had finished the entire third floor in less than ten minutes, and hadn't found the fabled icepick. They would have been able to finish quicker, but Nick's leg injury cost them a few precious minutes, just in travel time. They all stood at the the stairwell, debating between heading up to the fourth floor, and by extension, the roof. Nick leaned against the cold concrete wall of the stairwell, to reduce weight being put on his injured leg. He had his back turned to the stairs, and faced Finnick and Judy, who both stood in front of him, arms crossed.

"I say we go up to the fourth floor, since we've been going up floors since the beginning." Nick said.

"Well, I say we go to the basement, because I think that's where we have the highest chance of finding that damned icepick." Finnick argued.

Nick scoffed.

"Did you forget what happened down there? We literally watched someone die, Finn. It's dangerous down there. Also, who made you leader of operations?" Nick replied, a little louder.

"No, Nick, I didn't forget, in fact, I'll probably never forget what happened down there. Also, did _you_ forget what Kevin told me to tell you? The only way to get out of here, is to kill the thing with the icepick." he paused. "One more thing, last time I checked, you were injured, which means you are unfit to be leader." Finnick said.

"Wouldn't that mean Judy's the leader now, I mean, you're the only one here who's not a detective." Nick said, cracking a faint smile.

Finnick furrowed his brow.

"Wha- that's not the point, Nick! What I'm trying to say is, logically speaking, the most likely place an abandoned asylum like this keeps it's old tools is in the basement, and you want to avoid it because it's 'dangerous'." Finnick said. He added emphasis on the last word to mock Nick.

"Because it is!" Nick shot back, throwing an arm up in frustration.

"The basement is just as dangerous as any other area of this place. Obviously, the Fury can appear anywhere in the building, it's not confined to only the basement. The risk stays the same regardless of where we go."

Nick smirked.

"Exactly, Finn, which is why I suggest we go upstairs."

"I just tol-" he began, shortly before he buried his face into his paws, and groaned.

A few seconds passed, before Finnick composed himself, and turned to Judy, whom, to be honest, he'd forgotten was standing next to him.

"Judy, how about you decide for us. It's one versus one here, and you'll be the tiebreaker. Who's idea do you think is better." Finnick asked.

Judy stood, arms still crossed, and stared at the ceiling for a few moments. Meanwhile, Nick stared at her, hoping to catch her attention. He stared at her to try and sway her vote in his favour. Judy took a few steps back, and looked back at Finnick.

"I like Finnick's idea better, his seems to have more reasoning to it...sorry Nick." she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Aw, come on. Now I have to walk down all those stairs." Nick said, defeated.

"Haha! To the basement- wait. The only reason you wanted to go upstairs, is so you didn't have to go down the stairs?" Finnick began. "...Trick ass motherfucker."

Nick put his paws on his hips.

"My leg almost got torn off! It hurts." Nick whined sarcastically.

"I'm aware, let's go." Finnick said, starting down the stairs.

The trio began their trek toward the basement. Finnick and Judy led, Nick trailed behind, for obvious reasons. It wasn't until they reached the ground floor before Finnick began hearing Kevin again.

"Good call checking the basement." he said.

"What? Oh no, not again." Finnick said, frustration hinted in his tone.

"Who are you talking to?" Judy asked.

"It's Kevin." Finnick replied.

"Ohh, right...the ghost." Judy said, rolling her eyes.

"What do you want?" Finnick asked.

Kevin appeared in front of Finnick, facing him.

"I haven't been able to have a proper conversation since you bums showed up, so, I was hoping to be able to talk with you." Kevin said.

Finnick nodded.

"Yeah, uh-huh, just a second." Finnick replied.

He looked over at Judy, who was minding her own business, and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Kevin is right here in front of me. Tell me you see him. He's. Right. Here." Finnick said, pointing at the empty space a few metres in front of him.

"There's nothing there, Finnick, I really want to believe you, but there's nothing there." Judy replied, somewhat solemnly.

"The asbestos must be getting to you!" Nick called from behind.

Finnick looked back at Nick, who was snickering to himself like a schoolgirl.

"Asbestos doesn't cause delusions, dumbass! Also, you know god-damn well I lack the talent to make this shit up." Finnick yelled back. Nick's response was to laugh even harder. Finnick grumbled.

"Alright. We don't really have time to talk here, Kevin, kind of in a hurry, so why don't you just tell me more about this whole deal." Finnick said.

Kevin shook his head.

"I promise you I told you all I know." he replied.

"Well why don't you make yourself useful then, and go check the basement for us."

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

"Why not? Can't you pull a Danny Phantom and phase through the floors and the walls or something?"

"It's not a matter of can't, it's a matter of won't" Kevin said.

Finnick began to get frustrated again.

"And just why _won't_ you?" Finnick asked angrily.

"Because your unobservant ass didn't realize that you were already at your destination." Kevin replied, matter-of-factly.

Finnick's eyes narrowed. He was frustrated all right, but this time, he had to admit defeat.

"You win this round." Finnick said, slowly.

Kevin nodded, a large, triumphant smile plastered onto his face.

"That's right! I win!" Kevin exclaimed, shooting his fist into the air, before disappearing into nothing.

Finnick turned to the others, just as Nick caught up with them. The water in the basement was just as cold as it was before, and the group's camera-lights reflected off the surface, creating patterns on the walls and ceilings.

"Alright, guys, fan out. Look in every possible spot for that icepick. Leave no metaphorical stone unturned." Finnick said.

Nick and Judy disappeared into their rooms, while Finnick walked into one further down the hall. The temperature in this room was colder than in the hallway, and the atmosphere was a mixture of depressing and peace. As he walked deeper into the room, Finnick recognized it immediately. It was the room where they found the injured officer. It was plain to see that the officer was no longer there, presumably gobbled up by the Fury. He approached the spot where he was previously; all that remained were his torn up, blood soaked clothes, and his police badge. Finnick reached into the water, and picked up the badge. He observed it for a moment, before carefully putting it away in his bag.

 _The family of this officer's probably gonna want to keep this._ He thought.

Aside from the badge, the other item of value he was searching for wasn't there. He sighed solemnly, and exited the room. Nick and Judy were waiting in the hallway for him. Both remained silent.

"You find it?" Finnick asked.

Both shook their heads.

"Then we keep looking. No stopping 'till we find it."

They scoured the entire basement in search of this icepick, feverishly searching every open room. During the search, Kevin popped in to make meaningless conversation with him, and every time, Finnick would just scold him for not being more useful, and every time, Kevin would offer the same reply.

"Hey, I'm just here to oversee. Treat me as a...a sort of supervisor."

Another ten minutes passed, and they had reached the end of the darkened basement hallway. There was only one hallway in the basement, since it was primarily used for storage. They all stood together, standing in a circle, silent. The silence continued for five painstaking minutes, each of them exchanging glances with each other. Nick broke the silence.

"Turns out I was right, huh." Nick boasted.

Finnick's eyes immediately turned to Nick, filled with anger.

"Not. The. Time. Nick." he said, not breaking eye contact with him.

Judy rolled her eyes. She was sick of seeing Nick and Finnick at each others throats, especially at a critical moment such as this one. Judy turned quickly and pointed at a tall, empty wooden shelf that was leaning on the wall behind her, in an attempt to keep them from fighting, even for a minute.

"I think I saw something! Behind the shelf!" she cried.

The boys looked at Judy, then at the shelf. Nick limped over toward the shelf.

"What did it look like? Did you catch it?" Finnick asked.

"I thought I saw a twinkle of some sort. Move the shelf out of the way." she said.

Finnick ran over to the shelf, opposite to Nick. Together, they inched the shelf away from the wall. Behind the wall was a large steel door. Probably at least six inches thick. Nick and Finnick were shocked. Even Judy was shocked.

"Is this what you were talking about?" asked Nick, motioning toward the door.

"Yup." Judy answered, as quickly as she could.

Nick and Finnick walked over to join Judy in marvelling at their discovery. The door was a slate grey colour, with small bits of rust appearing here and there. The large hinges were coated with a thick rust as well. Finnick observed the door, looking for a way to open it. He noticed a latch on the right-hand side, and, placed just above it, a keyhole. Finnick's eyes brightened. He quickly shoved his paw into his pocket, and fished out the key he had received earlier. He walked up to the door, and inserted the key, turning it. A loud metal against metal screech later, the door was unlocked and open, the space inside was shrouded by darkness, as there were no windows, or any other source of light.

Nick smiled and patted Finnick on the shoulder.

"Good work, Finn." he said.

"The job's not done." Finnick replied, entering the room.

He held up his camera-light, panning it over the space. The room was essentially just one giant concrete box, most likely cold storage. The walls and ceilings were caked with dust and cobwebs, from decades of being untouched. Rickety shelving units lined the two walls next to the entrance, while the wall parallel to the door had hooks drilled into it, possibly for holding tools. He held the light on the back wall, noticing a wooden handle sticking out of the water. Slowly, he approached the object, careful to avoid stepping on whatever could be under the water, and to avoid making unnecessary noise. He grabbed the handle, and slowly lifted the tool up out of the water. What Finnick had found, was the fabled ice pick. This was the kind of ice pick that ice climbers used, with the long handle, and the head resembled that of a pickaxe.

"Whoa..." Nick said.

"The murder weapon..." Judy added.

Finnick observed the ice pick in the light. The head was pretty rusted, and the handle had a few rotten spots on them. In short, the tool was in awful condition, but since it was the sacred artifact that they needed to lift the horrible curse on the building, it would have to do. Finnick exited the room, holding the pick in both paws.

"Good show! To be honest, I had forgotten that this room existed." came a voice from behind Finnick.

Finnick rolled his eyes. He recognized the voice instantly.

 _Oh boy, I wonder who it could be..._ He thought.

Finnick ignored him, and joined Nick and Judy down the hall. About twenty metres down, Kevin appeared in front of the group. Nick and Judy still weren't able to see him, and Finnick still acted as if he couldn't either.

"Hey, come on now, why the cold shoulder?" He asked.

Finnick grumbled quietly to himself, in a weak attempt to continue his charade, but he unfortunately gave in.

"Kevin." he stated simply.

"Yes?" Kevin replied.

"I'm starting to doubt that you really exist, that you're a figment of my imagination." Finnick continued.

Kevin shot Finnick a confused glare.

"Well, could a 'figment of your imagination' do this?"

Kevin hovered over to a nearby open door. He gripped the handle, and slammed it as loud as he could, the echo bounced off the concrete walls for a few more seconds. Nick jumped, and Judy shrieked in horror.

"What was that?" Judy asked, still recovering from the jump scare.

Finnick turned his head in her direction, expressionless.

"It was fucking Kevin." Finnick deadpanned.

Judy only replied with a confused expression, before rolling her eyes.

"Alright then, if you're not a figment of my imagination, then why can't they see or hear you?" Finnick asked, smirking.

This one caught Kevin off guard. He scratched his neck, and blew out a breath.

"Hmm...maybe you are crazy...Maybe only the mentally insane can see and hear me." Kevin said, scratching his chin.

Finnick shook his head.

"Whatever."

The trio plus Kevin arrived at the foyer once again, this time, they were at a kind of dead end. Nick sat down on the floor against the reception desk, and the other two sat around him.

"Alright, we found the pick, now I guess we wait for the creature to show up again." he said.

"We could camp it out here." Judy added.

Nick approved of Judy's answer, since his leg still hurt from the bite earlier in the night.

Nick and Judy sat in silence, waiting for the time for them to execute their plan. Finnick however, was watching Kevin float around the room, seemingly nervous. Finnick, once again, tried to ignore him, but he simply couldn't.

"What're you spooked about, you're a ghost for God's sake!" Finnick cried, startling him.

"This-this isn't the right place..."he said, continuing his 'pacing.'

"What? The fuck does that mean?" Finnick asked, confused.

"We're not done yet." Kevin continued.

"Man, that's some bullshit. We got all the notes, and we found the weapon like they said, and you told me that we have to kill the Fury with it. After that, the curse is lifted, and then we can leave, so I can go home and never leave my not haunted house ever again."

"No-no-no! That's just it! There's still one more note..." Kevin added.

His voice faded near the end of his sentence. Finnick's eyes widened, and they were filled with anger. He stood up in an instant and faced Kevin as best he could.

"...Where is it." Finnick said, loud enough to garner Nick and Judy's attention. Since he began talking to Kevin, they had just started tuning him out.

Kevin faltered.

"I-it's upstairs, tacked to the door to the roof. You need to get there, and quick, before-"

Kevin was cut off by a terrible sounding moan coming from the beneath them. It was loud enough to shake the foundation of the building, which caused dust and fine powder to fall from the ceiling. Nick and Judy stood up shortly after, just as confused as Finnick was.

"What's going on?" Nick asked loudly.

"It's back! You have to get to the roof!" Kevin said, disappearing down the hallway.

"We have to get to the roof." Finnick repeated, chasing after him.

"What? Why-" Nick began, before being cut off.

"No time for questions, Nick, just get to the roof." Finnick replied.

Judy started chasing after Finnick, while Nick followed behind as best he could. By the time Nick reached the staircase, he turned back to look down the hallway. In the foyer, he saw a dim orange glow stumbling around, as if intoxicated. It stopped at the entrance to the hallway, staring down it's length. As if by magic, it disappeared for a moment, before reappearing about ten feet away from the staircase where Nick was standing. Nick shrieked, and he started up the stairs.

Nick managed to catch up with the other two, since they couldn't run very fast due to their size. When he passed them, it signalled to them to run faster as well. Judy was able to catch up to Nick again.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"It's...coming...for...us." Nick replied, in between gasps for air.

Judy instantly knew what he meant, and began running faster.

By the time they reached the fourth floor, the Fury had gained significant ground on them. Finnick had made his way to the front of the group. He'd ran far enough ahead to reach the end of the hallway, where the door to the roof was. As Kevin had said, there was a note tacked to the door, although it wasn't worth reading, since Kevin had pretty much covered the contents of it when he first appeared to Finnick. He ripped the note off the door and shoved in his pocket with the rest. He tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. It was locked. He tried the key for the steel door on this one, but as he expected, it didn't work. He only had one option left. He raised the ice pick over his head, and started hacking at the wood. Meanwhile, down the hall, Judy had stopped running. She had her weapon drawn, and had fired a full magazine into the Fury. This didn't kill it, but it did slow down it's movement, giving Finnick precious time to break down the door. Finnick put all his strength and energy into his swings, hoping to break through the door quicker. A few moments later, success. Nick ran out onto the roof first, followed by Finnick. Judy entered the roof last, diving to avoid the Fury's pounce.

The weather outside was pretty overcast, eliminating most moonlight that would be shining down on the structure. The only sources of light were the mammal's camera-lights, and the haunting orange glow originating from the Fury, who was scrambling to get up.

"Judy, distract the Fury while I prepare a sneak attack!" Finnick called.

"Got it!" Judy yelled back, running toward the disoriented creature.

She stomped her paws on the ground, grabbing its attention. The creature let out a weak growl as it looked Judy in the eyes. Judy stared back, unmoved. She wasn't scared of it anymore.

"Hey, you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost!" she taunted, not breaking eye contact with it.

As if the Fury understood what she had said, it immediately rose to its feet, and charged at Judy. She quickly jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding the attack. The Fury slammed into an A/C unit, stunning it. She ran to where Finnick was standing, who was preparing his swing.

"That all you got? Come get me!" she taunted once again.

The Fury got up, roared even louder, and charged toward Judy. She jumped away again, but this time, Finnick was behind her, holding the pick over his head ready to swing.

Finnick stared the Fury dead in the eyes.

"End of the line." he said, swinging down as hard as he could.

The tip of the pick pierced the head of the Fury with a sickening 'thud,' and stuck to the roof. The body stopped thrashing almost immediately. A loud rumble shook the foundation of the building once again, and a voice echoed through the air.

" **The cycle...has been broken..."**

Kevin reappeared in front of Finnick, wearing the biggest smile he could muster.

"That's got it! Thank you!" he said.

From the corner of the roof, near the door that led them out onto the roof, Nick had started yelling. Judy and Finnick had looked over toward Nick, who was pointing at Kevin.

"Oh my God! Finnick, there's a ghost next to you!" he yelled.

Judy turned toward Finnick, and noticed that Nick was right. A blue-hued apparition was right there, floating next to Finnick. She scoffed.

"From the shit I've been through tonight, that's nothing. I don't know why you're scared, Nick." she said.

Finnick laughed, which also garnered a chuckle from Kevin.

"Oh, they can see me! Excellent. Guess you aren't losing your mind." he said, turning to Finnick.

"Goodie." Finnick replied.

Nick and Judy walked over to where Finnick and Kevin were. They surrounded the corpse of the Fury, Finnick crouched down to get a better look. At the same time, the orange glow began to fade away. They all backed up at the sudden event, and watched carefully as the light got dimmer and dimmer. As soon as the last bit of orange glow disappeared from the corpse, a bright orange light appeared next to Kevin. Nick, Judy, and Finnick shielded their eyes from the light, while Kevin stared directly at it. The bright light began to take the shape of a mammal. As the light surrounding the mammal disappeared, Kevin's eyes widened. It was Rentschler, just like he'd said. Rentschler's ghost had a similar looking hue around him, but unlike Kevin's, his was orange. Rentschler was a spotted dog, wearing casual clothes under a lab coat, and a pair of lab goggles perched above his brow. The trio looked back to see the new apparition, and were amazed.

"Is that..." Finnick began.

"Indeed, it is." Kevin answered. "It's been so long, old friend."

"It has...I'm glad to see you again." Rentschler said.

Judy was smiling, looking at the reunion unfolding in front of her.

"Aww, this is so adorable." she said.

"Er, just letting you know, you've caused a lot of death, Rentschler. Gratuitous death." Kevin stated.

"I'm aware, but what are the authorities gonna do, kill me?" Rentschler replied.

The two of them chuckled. Their laughter was infectious, and eventually, the trio joined in.

As the laughter died down, The two spirits rose into the sky, fading away slowly. The three of them waved as they departed. Nick heard a loud static coming from his pocket. He reached into it, and pulled out his radio. It was working again! Nick shook it around a bit, trying to get the voice quality to go back to normal. Eventually, Nick was able to hear a frantic voice coming from the speaker.

"Wilde! Can you hear me? Wilde!" it said.

Nick pushed down the button to reply.

"Yes! I can hear you." Nick said.

Judy and Finnick huddled around the radio, awaiting a reply.

"What happened? We lost your signal." it said.

"Long story, can't talk about it now." Nick replied.

"Whatever, anything on the officers?"

They all fell silent. They all exchanged looks, before Nick pressed the button once again.

"It is with regret that I must report that one officer has been killed in action. The body has gone missing, but we were able to find his badge. As for the other one...we never found him. There is a chance that he did escape before everything went to hell, so I suggest we do organize a search around this area. In addition, I did sustain injuries to my leg, we were able to patch it up with a temporary bandage, and I will be visiting the emergency room." Nick said.

A few seconds passed before the voice answered again.

"What do you mean, Wilde? What went to hell?" it asked.

"Like I said, long story. Also, we do have the entire night's investigation on three different cameras, so you can watch over them to get more details on the story. We are heading out now, see you soon. Wilde, out." Nick concluded.

The three of them made their way from the roof, all the way down to the ground floor. They arrived at the window they entered from. Finnick approached the window carefully, making sure that the invisible barrier wasn't there, and sure enough, it was gone. Finnick and Judy climbed through the window first, then they helped Nick down afterwards, so he wouldn't hurt his leg any further. They had ended up spending the entire night in the sanitarium, on the walk back to the van, the sun was rising in the distance, taking the spooky edge of the building and surrounding forest away. They began walking down the path back to the main road.

"That was one hell of a night." Finnick said.

Nick looked down at him.

"It was...something." he added, finally.

They reached the van, which somehow, wasn't on cinder blocks, and they unloaded their gear. Nick put all the cameras back into their bags. Finnick got into the driver's seat, and turned on the ignition. The engine of the van roared to life, and he revved the engine a few times. Judy got into the back of the van, and laid down on the floor. As soon as Nick had finished slowly climbing his way into the passenger seat, Finnick stepped on the gas, and the van lurched forward. He turned around, and headed back toward Zootopia.

Five minutes into the drive, Nick looked back into the van, seeing that Judy had fallen asleep. Nick smiled.

"I don't understand how she could fall asleep so easily after that." Nick said, looking toward Finnick.

Finnick looked into his rear view mirror, seeing Judy lying on the floor.

"I wish I was with her, but I'm not letting you drive. You're hurt. Come to think of it, you should try and get some rest too, you definitely need it." Finnick said.

"I guess I could at least try, Night, Finn." Nick said before turning to look out the window.

The sun had peeked over the horizon now, and they were only twenty minutes away from the closest District. Finnick drove for another five minutes before checking on his passengers again. Both Nick and Judy were fast asleep. Finnick smiled to himself. He was close enough to see the city in the distance. He checked on Nick and Judy once more, before stepping on the gas, and driving into the distance.

* * *

 _And that about wraps up this little tale. Thanks to all who read through the whole thing, and special thanks to those who followed or favourited. A new story may be coming soon, so stay pinned. -Prince_


End file.
